Textile machinery



Nov. 12, 1935. w. POOL TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed Aug. 16, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet l \MLUAM Pool.

b 91%: nru&aw' 3 Nov. 12, 1935. w POOL TEXTILE MACHINERY 4Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 16, 1932 Nov. 12,' 1935. w. POOL TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed Aug. 16, 1932 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 FKQA.

U 4s 44 E 45 40 \mvu d'or W\LL\AH POO M 02 ML Nov. 12, 1935. w. POOL TEXTILE MACHINERY Filed Aug. 16, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 12, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TEXTILE MACHINERY Application August 16, 1932, Serial No. 628,983 In Great Britain September 30, 1931 8 Claims.

This invention relates to looms for weaving fabrics, and in particular to looms in which the weft is not inserted from a supply carried through the shed, but is taken from a separate supply for insertion into the shed. In particular the invention relates to such a loom in which the weft is laid into the fabric in the form of cut lengths, for example lengths suflicient to form. single picks, or lengths sufficient to form two picks connected together and inserted intoseparate sheds.

The object of the invention is to provide a Weft feeler arrangement for such a loom adapted to detect failure to insert a weft or slackness or breakage of the weft. A weft feeler device according to the invention is adapted to be engaged by the free end of the weft extending from the edge of the warps. Such engagement of the feeler device by the weft operates to prevent actuation of a knock-off device on the 160m, but on failurev of the weft to rock the feeler device a connection is provided between a moving part of the loom and the knock-off device, so that such failure is immediately detected, and results in stoppage of the loom. By engagement of the free end of the weft by the feeler there is no interference with the straight laying of the weft in the shed, the feeler tending rather to draw th weft tauter.

Any suitable mechanism may be employed for enabling the feeler in such circumstances to bring the loom to rest for the defect to be remedied. For example, the feeler may be provided with a hook which on failure of the weft to engage the feeler engages a catch to connect the knock-oil device to the moving part of the loom, while when the feeler is engaged by the weft the hook is prevented from engaging the catch so that no connection is made with the knock-off device. The knock-off device conveniently operates by releasing the starting handle of the loom and allowing it to spring to the stop position.

The weft feeler may be pivoted so as to have a swinging movement when it engages the weft, this swinging movement being sufficient when the Weft is taut too retain the hook on the feeler clear of the catch of the knockmif device. Conveniently the weft feeler is mounted on a lever or other member connected to the knock-off device, this member normally remaining stationary and only moving when connection is made by the weft feeler with the moving part of the loom.

The weft feeler is preferably of light construction. For example it may be made of light metal wire which is twisted to form a pivot for the feeler. A hook on the feeler may be formed by bending the wire on the feeler, or the wire may be connected, for example by soldering, to a separate hook.

Where relatively light wefts are being used, it is advisable for the feeler to be of light construction and freely mounted so as to swing easily on its pivot, since the hooked portion of the feeler provides a connection between the moving part of the knock-off mechanism in the event of failure 10 to lay weft correctly. The knock-01f mechanism may be constructed in the form of .a relay to relieve the feeler from excessive strain. Thus, the mechanism may be arranged so that on actuation of the mechanism to knock off the loom, a memher is brought into position to be engaged by a movingpart of the loom, which then provides the power to actuate the knock-off mechanism proper. Where such light feeler mechanism is not necessary, the knock-off mechanism may be actuated directly.

As has been indicated above the weft feeler device according to the invention is arranged to operate by holding a free end of the weft lengths so as to provide a resistance to the loom for the feeler. The invention therefore also comprises a loom having means so to hold the free end of weft lengths and provided with a weft feeler device of the kind described. Means for holding the ends of weft lengths are described in U. S. Patent No. 1,921,396, which describes specifically the application of suction to draw the free end of the weft length into an orifice where it is seized by a trapping device so that the weft is held taut during beat-up.

Where the welt is inserted in single pick lengths, a single feeler may be provided so as to engage the weft at one side of the loom only, though if desired two such feelers may be employed operating either simultaneously or alternately on alternate picks. Where the weft is inserted in double pick lengths with each pick in a separate shed, the free ends of the two picks lie at the same side of the loom, and one feeler device arranged at that side of the loom suifices to stop the loom on incorrect insertion or breakage or slackness of either pick. Wheresuch double pick lengths are inserted from both sides of the loom,

a feeler device is provided at each side of the loom so as to detect any faulty insertion of any pick. On the insertion of two pick lengths from both sides of the loom, insertion preferably takes place alternately from each side of the loom, so that the hights of the loop lengths formed by two connecting picks make a secure selvedge to the fabric, and the two feelers are arranged to operate in similar alternation.

Where weft feeler devices are provided on each side of the loom, these are conveniently provided with common actuating means and serve to operate a common knock-off device.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with respect to the accompanying drawings in connection with a loom requiring weft feeler mechanism at each side of the fabric, as for example the loom described in British Patent No. 346,850 which is adapted for the insertion of double pick lengths of weft from each side alternately so as to form hairpins of weft in the fabric. It is to be understood that the following description is given by way of example only and is in no way limitative.

Fig. 1 is a shortened plan view of the loom, showing at the right-hand side the position of the weft feeler when engaged byrcorrectly laid weft, and at the left-hand side the position of the feeler when not so engaged;

Fig. 2 is a part sectional elevation on the line 2-2 with the mechanism at the right-hand side of Fig.1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 shows diagrammatically a front elevation of the relative positions of the fabric, shuttle race, and weft feelers;

Fig. 4 shows to an enlarged scale a detail of Fig. 2;.

Fig. 5 shows a detail of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 corresponds to Fig. 4 but shows a simplified form of mechanism;

Fig. '7 shows toan enlarged scale the weft feeler construction;

Figure 8 is a part section elevation of a detail viewed along line 88 of Figure 1; V Figure 9 is a part sectional elevation of a modified form of the detail shown in Figure 8; and

Figure 10 is a part sectional elevation of a detail viewed along line lfl-l0 of Figure 1.

In the following description the weft is taken as being drawn into loop form from the supply package, the limbs of the loop being presented to inserting means and laid in turn into the fabric as described in British Patent No. 346,850. The free ends l9 of the pick lengths H projecting at the side of the fabric [2 are drawn by suction into an orifice l3 in the shuttle race l4 and there held by a trapping .device (not shown) during-beatup. For a complete description of looms embodying such weft loop forming and weft trapping means reference may be had to British Patent No. 3%,850 and U. S. Patent No. 1,921,396.

Mounted in brackets l5 carried by the side frames E6 of the loom along a line some little dis tance in front of the foremost position of the sley swords ll isa rock shaft l8 carrying a pair of double armed levers l9 actuated by means of cams 25! mounted on the tappet shaft 2| of the loom. The double armed levers l9 are arranged near the edge of the fabric and are adjustable, together with their operating cams 29, in accordance with the width of the fabric tobe woven. The two levers are loose on the rock shaft so that their rocking movement ordinarily produces no movement of the shaft. V 7

Close to each double armed lever there is secured to the shaft la a single armed lever 22 provided with a bracket 23 carrying a vertical pin 2% serving as a pivot for a light weft feeler 25 which extends forwardly from the pivot and is bent so as to lie substantially horizontally and parallel to the shuttle race. The other end of the weft feeler is formed with or secured to a hook 26 lying level with a blade 2! on the upwardly extending arm of the adjacent double armed lever i9 and urged towards engagement with this blade by means of a light spring 23 secured to the supporting bracket 23. The pressure of the spring is adjustable by means of a screw 29.

The portion of the weft feeler 25 extending to- -wards the shuttle race 14 lies in the path of the portion of the free end II!" of the weft extending from the edge of the warps to the orifice E3 in the shuttle race, so that if weft is correctly laid and held by the trapping device, the forward movementof the shuttle race to beat-up position brings the portion [0 of the weft into engagement with the weft feeler 25'and causes the feeler to rock about its pivot 24 so as to move the hook 26 aside from the path of theblade 21 on the doumovement of the shuttle race I 4 takes place without the weft feeler 25 being moved, so that the hook 26 remains opposite the blade 21 on the double armed lever l9 and is engaged thereby so that the lever 22 carrying the weft feeler 25 is moved to rock the rock shaft I8. This movement of the rock shaft l8 may operate to stop the loom directly, or may operate a relay. mechanism which in turn brings about stoppage of the loom. Such a relay mechanism is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 4.

Referring to these figures, a lever 30 is secured to the rock shaft l8 near one side frame l6 of the loom, the lever terminating in a pointed end 3| which bears against the bent end 32 of a spring 33 secured to and coiledabout a pin 34 carried by a latch 35. This latch is pivotally connected at 35 to a hammer lever 31 pivotally mounted at 38 to a bracket 39 secured to the part 40 of the loom frame. The upper edge of the latch 35 is formed with a notch M in line with and adapted to be engaged by a moving part of the 10cm, conveniently a catch plate 42 secured to the front edge of the shuttle race I4, The forward end of the latch is connected by a further link 43 whose lower end has a slotted connection t; with a bolt 45 connected to a fixed part 45. The upper end of the lever 3! terminates in a hammer 41' facing the end of the knock-off lever 48 lying adjacent the starting handle 49. When the loom is running the blade of the starting handle 49 rests as usual in a notch 56 at one end of a slot 5| in a plate 52.

When rocking of the shaft: 58 takes place, the lever 35 'makes a slight clockwise motion, and by the engagement of its pointed end 3| with the spring 33 causes the notched latch 35 to be lifted so that on forward movement of the shuttle race the catch plate 42 enters the notch 4|. On the return movement of the shuttle race the latch 35 is pulled to the left by means of the plate 52, and the lever 3i is rocked clockwise about its pivot 38 so that the hammer pushes the lever t8 against'the blade of the starting handle es, thus releasing the handle from the notch 553 and permitting it to slide under the usual spring action along the slot 5| to stop the loom.

The knocking off movement of the lever 31 takes place while the shuttle race is moving only a short distance from its front centre, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. The link 43 operates to pull the latch 35 downwardly out of engagement with the catch plate 42 after the shuttle race has moved the requisite distance to stop the loom, the link 43 constraining the free end of the latch 35 to move in a downwardly curving path until the notch 4| is freed from the plate A spring 53 pressing against the lever 36 restores the lever and the rock shaft It to their original positions, and by releasing the pressure on the spring 33 permits the latch 35 to rock freely into a position clear of the catch plate 52. The counter-clockwise movement of the lever 36 is limited by an extension 39a on the bracket 38.

In Fig. 2 the shuttle race I4 is shown in its foremost position so as to indicate the disposition of the feeler 25 and feeler bracket 23between the upper side of the shuttle race and the temple brackt E l. It will be understood, however, from the foregoing description that with the shuttle race in this position the cam 29 will have urged the lever is clockwise so as to make a connection between the blade 2's should the feeler 25 not have been rocked by engagement with the weft. The figure must not, therefore, be taken as representing the correct position of the lever I9 with the shuttle race in the position shown.

The relay mechanism just described is particularly suitable for use in looms employing relatively deli ate weft, since it permits a weft feeler of light construction to be employed, the feeler hook 2 3 only having to be strong enough to permit the rock shaft to be rocked by one of the levers It.

The power required to release the starting handle is, of course, provided by the shuttle race through its engagement with the latch 35 on the rocking of the lever 39. The lever 3% may, however, terminate in a hammer 55 which directly engages the knock-off lever 48 for release of the starting handle 49. In this case the weft fork be required to be of fairly sturdy construction, as may be used in connection with stouter weft thread.

It will be understood that failure of the Weft to move eith r of the feelers 25 at the sides of the fabric operates to produce rocking of the shaft it, one feeler and associated lever l9 serving to detect failure to lay weft correctly at its side of the loom, and the other feeler serving to detect failure at the opposite side of the loom.

A convenient form of weft feeler is shown in 7. This feeler comprises a single length of wire which forms the weft feeling portion extending towards the shuttle race and then curves towards the pivot pin 24 on the supporting bracket 23. The wire is twisted into a helix which lies round the pin 26 and then runs into the tail 25a, being bent back on itself and twisted to form a rigid length whose end is bent to form the hook 25. The weight of this type of feeler lies largely to one side of the pin 24, and therefore for very delicate actuation the feeler may be provided with balancing means. These may conveniently be formed by extending the end of the wire which has been twisted back to the pivot 24 into an extension 56 which may be provided with a light Weight 5'5.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters ?atent is:--

1. In a loom in which the weft is laid in cut lengths, each of which leaves a free end extending from the warps after insertion, means for seizing the extremity of each such free end after insertion of a pick, and a weft-stopmechanism including a feeler disposed between the edge of the warps and the seizing means, said feeler being adapted to engage correctly laid picks be tween the warps and the seizing means and to detect predetermined defective condition of the weft.

2. In a loom in which the weft is laid in cut lengths, each of which leaves a free end extending from the warps after insertion, a shuttlerace, means in the shuttle-race for seizing the extremity of each free end of weft after insertion of a pick, and a weft-stop mechanism including a feeler disposed between the plane of the warps and the shuttle-race, said feeler being adapted to engage correctly laid picks between the warps and the seizing means and to detect predetermined defective condition of the weft.

3. In a loom in which the weft is laid in cut lengths, each of which leaves a free end extending from the warps after insertion, a shuttlerace, means in the shuttle-race for seizing the extremity of each free end of weft after insertion of a pick, a weft-stop mechanism including a knock-off device, a substantially horizontal feeler, and a vertical pivot therefor carrying the feeler between the plane of the warps and the shuttle-race so constructed and arranged that the feeler engages correctly laid picks between the warps and the seizing means and detects predetermined defective condition of the weft.

4. In a loom in which the weft is laid in cut lengths, each of which leaves a free end extending from the warps after insertion, means for seizing the extremity of each such free end after insertion of a pick, a weft-stop mechanism including a knock-off device, a feeler directly connected to said knock-off device and disposed between the edge of the warps and the seizing means, said feeler being adapted to engage correctly laid picks between the warps and the seizing means and to detect predetermined defective condition of the weft, and movable means adapted to engage said feeler on its detection of such defective condition of the weft, and thereby to cause said feeler to operate said knock-off device.

5. In a loom in which the weft is laid in cut lengths, each of which leaves a free end extending from the warps after insertion, means for seizing the extremity of each such free end after insertion of a pick, a weft-stop mechanism including a weft-feeler, a knock-off device, and a relay mechanism connecting said weft-feeler to said knock-01f device, said weft-feeler being disposed between the edge of the warps and the seizing means so as to engage correctly laid picks between the warps and the seizing means, and adapted to operate said knock-off device through said relay mechanism in detecting predetermined defective condition of the weft.

6. In a loom in which the weft is laid in cut lengths, each of which leaves a free end extending from the warps after insertion, a shuttlerace, means in the shuttle-race for seizing the extremity of each free end of weft after insertion of a pick, and a weft-stop mechanism including a rock-shaft, a lever secured to said shaft, a weft-feeler carried by said lever and adapted to engage each weft end between the warps and the seizing means after it has been seized, a second lever loosely mounted on said shaft and adapted to be rocked so as to engage with the feeler on detection by the feeler of predetermined defective condition of the weft so as I. A loom according to claim 6, wherein the shuttle-race comprises the part of the loom movable to engage and move the latch.

8. A loom according to claim 6, wherein means are provided for Withdrawing the latch from engagement with the movable part of the loom after actuation of the stop mechanism.

WILLIAM POOL. 

